He said: "The defendant wished to be referred to as a woman, so perhaps you could refer to her as 'she' for the purpose of the proceedings."

Tara Wolf arrives at the court with supporters.Credit:
JULIAN SIMMONDS

Ms MacLachlan replied: "I'm used to thinking of this person who is a male as male."

The row was the latest in an ongoing battle between Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs), who believe that transwomen should not be given the same rights as those born female, and transgender activists.

The two factions have repeatedly clashed over the issue of men who “self-identify” as female and are allowed in women-only spaces and take on roles reserved for women.

The group of radical feminists, including Ms Maclachlan, had gathered at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park last September to discuss changes to the Gender Identity Act which will make it easier for people to define their gender themselves.

Transgender activists were holding a counter demonstration when the two groups clashed and Ms MacLachlan, who describes herself as a "gender critical feminist," was allegedly punched.

Supporters of Ms MacLachlan outside courtCredit:
JULIAN SIMMONDS

She was filming a group who were chanting "When TERFs attack, we strike back" and claimed she simply thought she might get some "amusing footage".

Ms Maclachlan has admitted that following the event she sent out a tweet featuring a close-up of the defendant's face with the words: "Hiya, got any hair restorer while I'm in hiding? Love Tara."

Miss Wolf, who faces one charge of assault by beating, admitted being involved in the fracas but insists she was acting in self-defence.

She said Ms Maclachlan was shaking her partner "like a rag doll" when she struck her.

She described the event as a hate rally and said the fight broke out because she feared Ms MacLachlan planned to out her as transgender online.

Tara Wolf arrives at the court with supporters.Credit:
JULIAN SIMMONDS

"Terfs have a history of taking people's pictures and posting them in pages like GenderIdentityWatch.com, a database that makes us a target for the far-right," she told the court.

"(The complainant) was trying to get people's faces. She was filming the argument that was going on between the two groups."

Ms Maclachlan argued that she was not even aware the group were trans, saying she thought they were all male.

"They were not easily perceived as trans. I don't mind going though them face-by-face if you want to argue the toss," she said.

"When I started filming I didn't have any particular intention of what I might do with the footage. I might have shown it to my husband, I might have posted it on my Facebook page, or I might have uploaded it on my blog."

She denied she was trying to make the protesters feel "scared, uncomfortable or unsafe".

Wolf admitted posting on Facebook ahead of the event: "I wanna f*** up some terfs. They're no better than fash (fascists)."

She claimed she made the comment out of bravado and wanted to protest peacefully.